Reigning Porsche Carrera Cup Asia champion Christian Menzel of Team
StarChase
threw down the gauntlet today to his fellow 22 competitors with a
scorching, pole-
setting qualifying lap of 2:07.725 at the 5.5km Shanghai International
Circuit.

The German was the only driver to lap in less than two minutes, 8
seconds, with
the second fastest on track two-time champion Darryl O'Young of Hong
Kong.
The LKM Racing driver will line up alongside Menzel for the start of the
opening
round of the 2010 season.

The second row will see Red Bull Racing's Marchy Lee of Hong Kong line
up
alongside Team PCS Racing's Craig Baird.

Quickest in the Class B category, for non-professional drivers, was
Singapore's
Mok Weng Sun of Team PCS Racing, with an impressive lap of 2:09.605. Mok
will line up next to Team Jebsen's Rodolfo Avila of Class A for the
start of the first
12 lap race.

Team Kangshun's Ringo Chong was second fastest by the end of the
session,
with series newcomer Francis Tjia of OpenRoad Racing third.

Menzel has got his title defence off to an excellent start at the 2010
Formula 1
Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai, collecting one point for pole position:
"My
experience tells me that all points are important in this series. My car
was very
good, and this is a result of good team work. I enjoyed every minute."

He set his fastest lap right at the start of the session, explaining:
"From my
experience, the first five minutes on track are very fast if the Formula
1 cars have
been out just before." However, he remained tight-lipped on his race
strategy: "Don't
ask about strategy as it is changing moment by moment. And anyway, it's
a secret!"

For O'Young, this weekend is his first outing in the new Porsche 911 GT3
Cup car
having missed the official test last month. Despite several podium
finishes, he is still
chasing an elusive win on the Shanghai track: "To win here would be
fantastic. It's a
tough circuit for me. The car feels quite different, with a lot more
power. The grip
seems to be a tough one this weekend too."

Lee wrestled with setup this weekend, as well as preparing mentally after
an 8-month
hiatus from racing: "My race pace will be good, and the setup is OK
now. It wasn't
good enough before, but starting from the second row is OK."

With a bumper Class B field this season, the competition is fierce, and a
heated rivalry
is already developing between Mok and Chong. Said Mok: "I'm happy
with my
qualifying. I had a good first session, and then I came in to see how
everything was
going. When I saw Ringo doing well on an old set of tyres, I said to my
mechanic,
'put a new set of tyres on and let me go!'" It worked, and Mok
improved on his best
time.

Said friendly rival Chong: "Mok is getting too quick, so I guess I have
to drive faster.
Mok and I are going to try and keep up with the front group. The goal is
to keep
looking forward and not look back!"

Newcomer Francis Tjia impressed on his Porsche Carrera Cup Asia debut,
and is
looking forward to both the race and the season ahead: "It's going to
be a great year,
and there's always going to be someone to battle with. In my case it
may be my
brother (Christian) as he's two positions behind me!"